Innocence
by jiskistasta
Summary: In the new District 10, a little girl wanders in. When she is found, what is the finder's reaction? This is a freaking Two-Shot. NOT a long story. Razor-toothed plotbunny attached itself to my brain in the middle of the night. This is the result.
1. Chapter 1

There was a little girl here.

It was quite a strange occurrence. Most people kept good tabs on their children, making sure they didn't wander in here. But this girl's mother must've left her alone for a little too long.

She must've been about six. I thought that if she was left alone much longer, she'd get into some sort of trouble, so I grabbed her. Once I got into my house, I sat her down. "What's your name?" I asked. She just looked at me, clearly very confused.

"What is you sayin', aleen man?" she replied. "I don' unnastan' what you is sayin'."

I sighed, and got out a marker and a piece of cardboard. I quickly wrote, "Name?" on it. After a little while, the girl managed to read it. "Oh, dat eeeeeeeaaaasy! My name Anais! What you name, aleen man?"

I shook my head. "Parents?" I wrote. She looked down. "My mommy shoppin' right now." Believable. "And your father?" I scribbled. "I don' have a daddy. Mommy say he be gone when I still in her tummy."

Well, that wasn't helpful at all. I didn't know where her mother was, and if she didn't know who her father was, how could I find him?

Then I noticed something: this little girl looked awfully familiar. The brown hair, the greenish-brown eyes, thin lips: it was my face. My old face.

This girl … this was my daughter. It made sense. I'd been like this for nearly seven years, as Christopher hadn't exactly made good on his promise of three years. If she was about six … it all fit. I doubt I could just tell her, without having to explain a lot of things her six-year-old mind wouldn't understand.

"Aleen man, is you okay? You jus' sittin' there an' starin' at nothin'," she said, waving her hand in front of my face. "Is you broken?"

I shook my head, and grabbed the cardboard. "I was thinking about something important," I wrote. "Please find your mother and bring her back here, okay? I need to speak with her."

Anais smiled and nodded. "Okay, aleen man. I bring Mommy back here to see you, okay?" I nodded slowly. "Okay aleen man, can you take me home?" I agreed to, well, at least take her as far as I was allowed.

**A/N:**

** Okay, I just had this idea a few days ago, and it was really random. I had to write it down or it would haunt me forever. Should I continue it? Or is it kinda shitty?**

** --Katrine**


	2. Chapter 2

I waited. But it paid off after a few days. Anais had come back—and she had brought her mother. Good god, it had been so long since I had seen Tania. But, of course, she didn't recognize me.

She was looking at the little girl with a little bit of annoyance and a little bit of confusion. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked, slightly snappish. I wanted to step in, to snap back at her, "Don't you snap at our daughter!"

But I couldn't.

Anais looked at her mother, then at me. "Aleen man tell me to bring you here. He say there somethin' im-poh-tant you have to talk 'bout," she said, even more annoyed than Tania.

She shook her head. "All right, Anais, I'll talk to him," she sighed. Tania turned to me. "Who are you? Why do you want to talk to me?"

_"Do you understand my language?"_ I asked her. She nodded. _"Good. Oh, hold on a minute, I need to go get something."_ I went to a box and got out one of the roses I'd made over the past seven years. _"This, quite honestly, was one reason I wanted to see you,"_ I told her. _"I wanted to see how you react to these."_

She looked at it in disbelief. "You … but how … is that …?" she sputtered. "Where did you get this?" she said finally.

I shrugged. _"I made it. Where else would I get it?"_ I asked, and she just stared at me. _"But as for the other reasons …well, now you don't need me to tell you who I am, do you?"_

"I … think I have a pretty good idea," she whispered. "But how did you … become this? I want _you_ back. I still love you, but …"

I turn around. _"But what?"_

Tania swallowed. "It's just … I can't really _cuddle_ you like that, can I?" she asked, smiling a little bit.

That wasn't what she was going to say. I could tell, just by the way she'd said it. _"Tania, what did you really want to say?"_

She bit her lip, looked down. "I'm sorry, it just feels like … it's not _you_ anymore. I'm sorry … but you're … different now."

I glared at her. _"Are you kidding me? You can't stand to be around me just because I look different now?"_ I walked away, facing away from both Anais and her mother. _"You … just go. I need a minute. But … please keep bringing Anais. She has a right to know me, and I have a right to know her."_

I didn't turn around, but I heard Tania say, "Let's go, Anais," and I heard the door slam as they left.

**A/N: Jeez! Why do people ONLY look at this story? This is a really crappy one that I had a dream about, and that's the ONLY reason I wrote it! Please, look at Those Who Continue! That is the one I'm really working on!**


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